According to the United Nations, population ageing is becoming one of the most significant social transformations of the 21st century, affecting almost all sectors of society, including labour and financial markets, and the area of goods and services, such as housing and social protection. In recent decades, one can notice the increasing attention to the topic of ageing and age discrimination in the academic literature.
The book Extending Working Life of Older Workers: Age Discrimination Law, Policy and Practice by Alysia Blackham analyses age discrimination laws in the United Kingdom (UK) and explores how they are dealing with challenges of ageing in the context of employment. It concentrates mainly on the UK, but also includes analysis of the European Union (EU) as well as the Finnish position on age discrimination of older workers. The book demonstrates the unique application of mixed-methods research, incorporating qualitative, quantitative, doctrinal and comparative approaches. The second chapter is fully devoted to research methodology enabling the reader to understand better the research strategy and methods applied by the author.
In the chapter entitled ‘A Doctrinal Critique of UK Age Discrimination Laws’, Blackham discusses the weaknesses of age discrimination laws, case law, in the EU and the UK, concentrating on compulsory retirement and default retirement ages. For example, in relation to mandatory retirement cases, the author criticises the position of the European Court of Justice. By providing solid arguments, she raises doubts about whether the aims put forward by the Court in these cases can be really considered as legitimate. She also argues that, with the exception of the Commission v Hungary case, the Court did not demonstrate rigorous scrutiny when applying a proportionality test. The author likewise presents a critical analysis of the case law on retirement ages in the UK.
What is valuable in this book is that it contains opinions, evaluations and suggestions of UK experts in employment law. This is a useful addition, since it provides a practical insight on the matter of age discrimination law in the UK. In Chapter 5 the author applies quantitative analysis in order to demonstrate the level of age-awareness among UK organisations. The statistical analysis brings strength to the legal research. Chapter 6 demonstrates the success of labour market policies regarding older workers and age discrimination legislation using the example of Finland. Despite some of the existing challenges, Finland serves as an example of a country with a proactive approach in terms of combating age discrimination. Based on organisational case studies of ‘best practice’ employers of older workers in the UK and Finland, the author attempts to reveal how organisations can gain further encouragement to involve more with the topic of older workers and extension of their working lives. In Chapter 8, ‘Constructing Future Scenarios – The Delphi Method’, the findings of the expert discussions are presented, evaluating possible scenarios for promotion of employment of older workers. Findings reveal that experts do not consider legal reform to be important in making a change. Rather, non-governmental activities, information, guidance and attitudinal campaigns could enhance age equality. The last chapter summarises the findings of the book and presents the main conclusions. It points at the UK's limited approach to age equality, namely legal uncertainty, a rather weak legislative framework, and prevailing cultural norms favouring formal and not substantive equality. Blackham makes recommendations regarding improvement to the situation, such as adoption of age management approaches and changes to the existing legal framework. The legal reform proposed by the author includes amending existing age discrimination legislation, clarification of positive action provisions and rethinking individual enforcement.
Overall, with the help of a variety of methods applied, such as interviews, case studies, statistical analysis, doctrinal research and comparative analysis, the author demonstrated the way UK age discrimination laws are functioning, their limitations and how they could be improved. The book represents great value since it provides real solutions for improving age discrimination laws.
The author applies the elements of a descriptive and argumentative writing style. The text is easy to follow, very clear and structured, and the chapters are interconnected. For those not familiar with statistical analysis, the calculations and formulas presented in Chapter 5 may seem confusing, but can still be understood if thoroughly studied.
The book is recommended for labour law and discrimination experts, those interested in the area of age discrimination of older people, and socio-legal and empirical legal research.
